


A Little Lie

by wasthatafanfic



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Into Dimension X
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 13:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14238066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasthatafanfic/pseuds/wasthatafanfic
Summary: Something's been bothering Donatello ever since they returned from dimension X.Hours, he'd said, Mikey had been alone there for hours.But there were all these little things, little things he said and did and changes that made Donatello suspect it might have been longer.A lot longer.





	A Little Lie

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching Into Dimension X and noticed how quick Mikey went from saying it'd been months to just a couple hours and wondered what if it was just so his bro's wouldn't freak out about how long they'd accidentally left him alone?  
> And then when I started thinking about who'd figure it out Donatello came to mind and then this happened.

"So," Donatello didn't look up from his research as he asked the question that'd been weighing on him for days now, ever since the realization had first hit him "How long did you say you were in Dimension X for before we got there?"

Michelangelo brought the desk chair he'd been playfully careening about the lab in to a surprisingly sudden stop, the wide smile not bothering to drop from his face.

"Oh I 'unno bro, times so weird over there. Couldn't'a been more then a couple hours." The playful shrug of his shoulders, the lopsided smirk, the tilting back and forth on the chair. Now that he'd realized what to look for it all felt so painfully _rehearsed_  meticulously acted out actions, like some kata for babybrother-innocence.

Donatello stared him right in the eye and for an impressively long time the orange masked turtle held it, big childish eyes giving questioning blinks every few moments to make sure the stare didn't come off as a challenge.

When he spoke again the purple masked turtles tone was low and imploring, each word measured and clear.

"How."

"Long."

The 'innocently confused' mask he'd been holding only lasted a few more seconds before his gaze dropped, smirk going with it , and he slumped from the youthful bounciness into something - older -

Lines appeared about his face telling of exhaustion and worry, his shoulders sagged with a weight that spoke of many more struggles then they once had, even the brightness seemed to fade from his eyes as he slumped forward to rest his elbows about his knee's. Letting out a long, worn sigh before looking back up at his brother in defeat.

"What gave it away?"

Donatello scootched his own chair closer, laying a hand on his younger brothers shoulder, his own expression etched with worry at confirmation of his theory.

"Couple things, but the last straw was something I noticed during training. You know how I zone out sometimes when we're waiting turns for sparring and stare at you guys' shells?"

Mikey gave a nod, he'd done it since they were kids and been bopped on the head more then once for it.

"Did you also know turtle shell's are kinda like tree's? The scutes develop rings as we grow, not exact but they give a rough idea of age...and I realized there's more rings on your shell then there should to be."

He patted the shell in question and Mikey shot a glare over his shoulder at it, as if he'd been betrayed by the thing.

"And you still haven't answered my question. How long were you on your own over there Mikey?"

He scuffed his foot against the cold concrete floor and the silence went long enough Donatello wondered if he'd have to ask again when Mikey gave a lethargic shrug.

"I-I really don't know. Time was so weird there and I didn't have anything to try and track things with."

Donatello remembered the crack about not having a watch he'd made when he'd saved them from the rocktapus, he'd changed his answer from months to hours mighty fast, it hit him his baby brother had been trying to spare them from realizing exactly this.

"Best guess then."

He chewed his lip for a moment, considering and finally admitting.

"Probably a year, maybe almost two."

He stared, mouth agape, at the exhausted looking turtle before him, when he finally found his voice it came out in a disbelieving whisper

"Two _years_?"

Another shrug

"W-why didn't you tell us?"

"Well, part to avoid exactly that face you're making right now." Mikey explained blandly as Donatello tried to school his features "Figured out something was up within the first day or two. Knew you guys wouldn't just _not com_ / so something had to be _stopping_  you from coming. And then when you did show up and said you'd followed right after? That's when I was sure. The rest was a bit more ...selfish."

Now _that_  answer surprised him.

"I just- I wasn't- ugh" He buried his face in his hands and huffed out frustration at not finding the right words "When I realized no time had actually passed for you guys I just - I just wanted to go back to being - _me_. The old Mikey, the one you followed after 15 seconds later not...I am so not ready to be oldest."

That realization hit Donnie hard, they'd never really had a way of knowing who was actually oldest, they were probably hatched days apart at most if not mere hours, even a few months difference would easily put him in the lead, a couple years completely removed any argument.

"So you've just been - acting? At being you?"

Mikey considered

"Yeah I guess that’s a way to put it."

"So the other day when you disappeared right after dinner?"

"Hiding in the bathroom throwing up, haven't had real food in ages so it didn't want to stay put. The pizza was totally worth it though."

"And I noticed repairs on the breathing unit."

"Oh yeah dude that thing is a trooper I only even had to fix it like once or twice cause something got off a lucky shot."

"Yesterday when you messed up my experiment?"

"Um ...yeah that was gonna blow up so I kinda, made it blow up smaller instead?... sorry."

"...Have you been holding back in training?"

Mikey considered, wavering his hand after a moment

"Kinda, kinda not? Like my ninja skills are hecka rusty cause fighting works different there. I totally coulda plastered Raph yesterday but it woulda been very un-ninja-ey and may have given Master Splinter a migraine."

Donnie snorted, letting himself be entertained by the mental image instead of horrified by the situation for a moment and some of the tension bled out of the room.

"So, what were you doing while you were stuck there?"

Mikey had started swinging his chair back and forth again and started toying with one of Donnie's smaller projects on the table.

"Spent a lot of time sabotaging the Krang, couldn't ever seem to get far enough into their base to get to the portals or find Leatherhead till I had you guys with me though. Mostly just got by."

"Huh." Donatello stared at his brother as he took in his words "So we would have been invaded already if it wasn't for you."

Another absent shrug from the youngest-now-oldest

"I think that last one did the most though, that's gonna put them back for ages."

There was no mistaking the momentary flash of pride that turned his lips upward, but it quickly crumbled back into awkward worry and he rubbed his arm absently, looking anywhere but at Donnie as he asked "So- when are you gonna tell everyone else?"

Donatello considered the question very seriously. Considered everything the once carefree turtle had been keeping bottled up and hidden away from them, how badly this all must be effecting him, and how desperately he wanted things to be 'normal' even if just for a little while.

"We're gonna have to, eventually. But I think it'll be okay if we keep this between us right now."

Michelangelo brightened instantly, the brightness reigniting in his eyes at the idea of even a short reprieve.

"But! No more secrets, not from me at least. Two _years_  Mikey god! You can't expect me to believe you're just okay."

"Maybe _almost_  two." he corrected, but they both knew the point stood, so he took a deep breath and unsteadily admitted. "Yeah honestly... I haven't been sleeping well, I keep expecting - I dunno - this all not be real? Like I'm gonna wake up and be in Dimension X still and this was just a dream."

Donnie was a bit relieved honestly, that was on the lower end of the possible-trauma-induced-issues scale he'd already started in his head. No doubt it was only the tip of the iceberg but it was at least something he could try and help with on his own.

"Wanna bunk with me tonight?"

Mikey brightened further

"Really? You sure?"

"Hey, if it works after monster movie marathons couldn't hurt for post traumatic nightmares."

The shorter turtle launched himself into the taller's arms for a huge hug and it occurred to him as he returned it in kind that Mikey hadn't been hugging any of them as much as he normally did these last few days, had it been worry over them figuring things out somehow? Had the time apart made him more distant and nervous to reconnect in that way?

He let the hug last as long as Mikey needed it to and when they finally parted he hummed as they considered where to go from here.

"So, learn anything useful about Krang tech?"

A cocky grin spread across the orange masked turtles face, the extra years still written on his face but just a little more bounce in his step as he shoved Donatello aside to reach the computer and start pulling up files.

"Have I ever! Here, lookit this!"

He watched for a moment as Michelangelo expertly decrypted Krang files he'd been agonizing over for weeks and felt a little more hopeful for what was coming, and dealing with what had occurred.

"Hey, Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me when you're ready to tell everyone else okay? Cause I gotta be ready for when you stop faking and _cream_  Raph in training."

For his part Mikey burst out laughing

"Oh man totally, I promise I'll warn you!"

"Thanks... _**Big Bro**_."

Michelangelo shot him a horrified look and wailed dramatically

"Nnnoooo! That’s exactly what I was avoiding!!!!"

As Donatello laughed so hard at the theatrics he fell out of his chair.

 

**Author's Note:**

> They do eventually tell the rest of the family, before he does he let's Donatello know and just straight up decks Raph during sparring, Donnie tapes the whole thing.  
> Leatherhead already knows because he'd heard the Krang discussing his repeated sabotages and attempts to get to him and they form their own little support group.  
> There's some mild teasing about him being the big brother now but that ends quick when they realize it actually does bug him and there's a consensus after that that he's the baby brother no matter what.


End file.
